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12 Years A Slave Violence

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History has shown that when all else fails human beings resort to violence. Most of the time this occurs when people are unable to solve issues in which opposing sides do not see eye to eye. The result of going to war gives power to the group of people who are victorious. However, violence was not used for this reason during the times of slavery. There was not a dispute that needed to be settled. Instead, racism and the whites` perspective of blacks as property instead of humans was the sole reason for the violence towards the slaves. In 12 Years a Slave, the depiction of violence displays that violence gives power to the oppressor because of the fear, pain, and suffering it brings those who are oppressed. Critics state that the film demonstrates …show more content…

Suddenly, the life where Solomon lived happily with his family became a memory instead of his reality. He had everything taken away from him: his family, his life, and his identity, which made him powerless under the whites. In terms of physical violence, he was beaten, whipped, and hung. After repeatedly being beaten, the slaves became weak physically and in spirit. Although sometimes their masters would whip them simply out of aggression, they were fearful of being punished even further. Therefore, they would obey the slave owners and talk to them in a respectful manner, which as a result, gave the whites power because of the control they had over the slaves. The physical violence in the movie also contributed to the themes of inequality and racism as it demonstrates that “there is nothing morally right about slavery”(“The Violence of 12 Years a Slave”). The violence in the film also brought attention to some very important characters. The entire movie shows the brutal and heartbreaking circumstances of the enslaved people. However, the tone of the film shifts to a more hopeful tone when Bass` character is introduced. His character is very different compared to the other white characters in the film because “he was the only person who had the …show more content…

Laich mentions that the violence taking place, the oppression of the slaves, and the dark soundtrack contributes to the intense tone. The theme of injustice is evident throughout the film, and it is clear that the complete lack of equality made it possible for power to rise. She fails to discuss the violence on the Ford plantation, and only talks about the Epps plantation. The majority of the movie did take place on the Epps plantation. However, she chose to comment on this part of the movie because Epps showed absolutely no compassion towards the slaves through his “merciless and cowardly” behavior (Laich) . The critic mentions how the Epps seemed “to hold hatred in their bodies like a sickness” (Laich). In particular, she refers to the time when the couple forced the slaves to dance in the middle of the night. In response to this scene the critic asks “what kind of sad ladder does a person's heart have to climb to manifest into such perverse expressions of power?” (Laich). This scene revealed that through violence, not only were the whites able to use their power to force the slaves to do brutal and hard labor, but they were also able to make them do whatever they had asked. Similar to the first critic, it is evident that Laich condemns racism as well. Both of the film reviews noted that this film is relevant to the world we live in today. Racism still exists and it is unfortunate

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